Jallah Convicted, Acquitted Of Rape Related Charges

Criminal Court “E” Judge Wesseh A. Wesseh has found Peter Bon Jallah guilty of statutory rape and kidnapping while acquitting him of the charge of gang rape in a case involving a 16-year-old boy.

The verdict was delivered at the Temple of Justice in Monrovia, marking a significant development in the closely watched case.

According to the court’s ruling, Jallah was convicted on the charges of statutory rape and kidnapping but was cleared of the gang rape charge.

The case centers on allegations involving the 16-year-old boy. The court’s decision reflects separate findings on the three charges brought against Jallah.

Further details regarding the court’s reasoning, sentencing, and any penalties imposed are expected to clarify the legal consequences of the verdict.

It can be re-called that the assigned Circuit Judge Wesseh Alphonsus Wesseh, Sr., reserved ruling on Thursday, October 22, 2026, following final arguments from the prosecution and defense. The court scheduled the formal delivery of its verdict for Friday, October 23, at 11:00 a.m.

During the final arguments, defense counsel, G. Wiefueh Alfred Sayeh argued that the prosecution had failed to meet its legal burden of proving the allegations against his client.

Cllr. Sayeh repeatedly challenged the medical and forensic evidence presented during the proceedings, pointing to testimony from medical personnel who allegedly acknowledged that their examinations could not conclusively establish that rape had occurred.

The defense also questioned the DNA evidence, arguing that forensic testing had failed to definitively link the defendants to the alleged offenses.

Counsel further relied on telephone call records attributed to Jallah, maintaining that the records accurately placed him at the locations described by witnesses during their testimony.

According to the defense, the evidence presented by the prosecution was insufficient to establish Jallah’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

However, prosecuting lawyer, Calvin H. Momolu urged the court to convict Jallah, arguing that the evidence presented throughout the trial, when assessed collectively, supported the charges.

Cllr. Momolu pointed to medical observations reportedly documenting bruising, swelling, and abrasions, arguing that these findings, considered alongside witness testimony and other circumstantial evidence, satisfied the statutory elements of the alleged offenses.

The prosecution maintained that the court should not assess individual pieces of evidence in isolation but should instead consider the totality of the evidence in determining whether the alleged crimes occurred and whether the defendants were responsible.

The prosecution’s argument centers on the position that medical findings, witness accounts, and circumstantial evidence must be evaluated together rather than separately.

The defense, meanwhile, maintains that the medical and forensic evidence does not conclusively establish the allegations against Jallah.

The competing arguments now rest with Judge Wesseh, who is expected to determine whether the prosecution has met the applicable legal standard for conviction.

Jallah, who served as Deputy Director General of the NSA when the allegations surfaced, was dismissed from his position before his arrest on January 7, 2026.

Two other men, whose identities were not disclosed in the information provided, were also charged in absentia in connection with the case.

The charges have placed Jallah at the center of a criminal proceeding in which the court must evaluate the evidence presented by both sides before reaching a final determination.

Despite the seriousness of the allegations, Jallah remains presumed innocent under the Constitution of Liberia unless and until his guilt is established through the judicial process.

The court concluded Thursday’s sitting after hearing final arguments from both parties and reserved its decision for Friday morning.

The minutes of the sitting serve as notice to the parties regarding the scheduled delivery of the verdict.

 Representatives of the prosecution and defense, along with the court’s bailiff, were present during the proceedings.

The case was subsequently suspended pending judgment.

All eyes are now on Criminal Court ‘E’ as Judge Wesseh prepares to deliver a ruling that will determine the next legal outcome in the high-profile case.

When Jallah was first charged, the police charge sheet cited a medical report from JFK’s One Stop Center, the hospital unit for sexual violence survivors.

 That report described bruising around the boy’s sphincter muscles and a foul-smelling discharge from his anus. At trial, a nurse called by the prosecution testified to “lacerations and bruises observed in the alleged victim’s anus,”.

 It lists “Chronic Constipation” as a diagnosis and says the boy “complained of not being able to pass stool since prior to his admission and been that way for over six weeks.”

The nursing notes also record that on Jan. 8, the day after Jallah’s arrest, police escorted the boy out of the hospital with his mother and three others “to show the house where the incident took place.”

A Rwanda Forensic Institute report dated Jan. 22 found that Jallah “could not be excluded” as the contributor of male DNA found on four items of clothing, including the boy’s boxer shorts.

The defense argued that the DNA examination “could not establish penetration.” On Sept. 30, Wesseh denied Jallah’s motion for acquittal.

 He ruled that the state’s evidence, presented through 12 witnesses, was not “wholly insufficient,” and ordered Jallah to take the witness stand.

The boy testified in August that he was assaulted three times: on Nov. 29 and Dec. 24, 2025, at Jallah’s residence, and on Jan. 1, 2026, at a building on Camp Johnson Road.

He said he was then driven toward 15th Street and left by the roadside, where a security officer found him.

Medical research cautions against reading a late, normal examination as proof that nothing happened.

 A study of 2,384 children referred for possible sexual abuse, published in the journal Child Abuse & Neglect in 2002, found that 96.3% had normal examinations.

Among children whose histories involved anal or vaginal penetration, only 5.5% had abnormal findings, and among boys only 1%. “The history from the child remains the most important part of any assessment,” the authors wrote.

Britain’s Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, in guidance on the physical signs of child sexual abuse, says that a “normal examination does not exclude previous injury as many genital injuries heal without physical signs.” It also notes that anesthetic agents “commonly cause reductions in anal tone.”

Under Liberia’s amended rape law, rape includes penetration of the anus.

 It is a first-degree felony punishable by up to life imprisonment when the victim is under 18.

A separate amendment makes gang rape a first-degree felony.

The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection reported 1,735 rape cases nationwide from January to September 2025.

Not naming the boy or his relatives because he is a minor and the victim of a sexual offense.

However, Jallah is still at the Monrovia Central Prison awaiting his sentencing from the court.